Member for Tarneit, Tim Pallas greeted thousands of TAFE students, teachers and staff who marched upon Parliament House to show the Baillieu Government their harsh $290 million cuts to TAFE are totally unacceptable.

Mr Pallas said the size of the crowd showed that Mr Baillieu had underestimated the impact the cuts to TAFE were having across the state.

“In Wyndham and all across the state Mr Baillieu’s TAFE cuts are causing pain,” Mr Pallas said.

“Mr Baillieu’s unprecedented assault on TAFE is forcing institutes to consider closing campuses, sacking staff, cancelling courses and putting up fees. 

Mr Pallas said the cuts were also coming at the difficult time for the Victorian economy,  with major job losses being announced almost every day across different industries.

“The Liberal State Government’s cuts to TAFE funding are particularly concerning given that youth unemployment levels in Victoria are at 18.7% compared to the national average of 15.1%. In the Western Metro area, these figures are even more damning, with 35.3% youth unemployment. This Government must invest in the skills and training to improve young Victorians employment opportunities.”

“When the economy is contracting, responsible governments invest in skills and training to better prepare the workforce for recovery,” he said.

“But Mr Baillieu is doing exactly the opposite and devastating TAFE institutes around Victoria and, in fact, he is adding more people to the unemployment queue.

“The community has banded together to send the message to Ted Baillieu that these savage cuts are taking education and training in Victoria backwards.”

“Many, many people have already signed the local petition urging the Baillieu Government to stop the TAFE cuts. I strongly encourage anyone interested in signing the petition to contact my office,” said Mr Pallas.